Food And Fuel Reduce CPI

CPI grew from 1.2% in the year to September to 1.3% in the year to October according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. So goods that cost £100 last October cost £101.3 this October.

The main contributors to the rise in inflation were smaller falls in the costs for motor fuels and air fares and price rises for computer games.

The three main contributors to annual inflation over the last five years have been housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels and restaurants and hotels. Together these three sectors have accounted for nearly half of inflation each month. Food and fuel prices which normally contribute to rises in annual inflation have been helping to reduce it by 0.3%.

Business Services Help Sector Growth Of 3.4%

The index of services published by the ONS suggests that the service sector grew by 3.4% in July 2014 compared with july 2013. All the major components of the services index experienced growth in the month compared with the same month a year ago.

Business services made the largest contribution with an increase of 1.9% and distribution,hotels and restaurants contributed 0.7%.

The monthly comparison between June and July 2014 shows that output increased by 0.3% for the fourth consecutive month. The quarterly comparison shows that between Q1 and Q2 there was 1.1% growth, an upward revision of 0.1% from the second estimate of GDP to be consistent with the Quarterly National Accounts.

Services Index Increase By 3.1%

The index of services published by the ONS increased by 3.1% in March 2014 compared with March last year. All four of the main components reported an increase on the same month a year ago. Business services and finance made the biggest contribution to the growth with an increase of 1.6%, distribution, hotels and restaurants also made a contribution to growth of 0.9%.

Between February and March 2014 there was estimated growth of 0.4% after growth of 0.2% between January and February. The quarterly comparison shows that output increased by 0.9% in Q1 compared with Q4 2013, unchanged from the estimate published in the preliminary estimate of GDP and consistent with the second estimate.

Services Index Increase Of 2.7% In February

All four of the main components of the index of services increased in February 2014 and it resulted in an increase of 2.7% in the total index in February.

The largest effects came from business services and finance with an increase of 1.4% to the total and distribution, hotels and restaurants which contributed 0.7% to total growth. The transport, storage and communication sector added and increase of 0.09% and government and other services 0.44%.

The monthly comparison of figures in the index of services shows that output in services increased by 0.2% between January and February 2014.

Annual CPI Inflation At 1.6%

CPI inflation increased by 1.6% in the year to March 2014. It was 1.7% in February. Between February and March 2014 the CPI rose by 0.2% compared with 0.3% between the same two months of last year. Downward pressure mainly came from transport, especially motor fuels but also from clothing and furniture and household goods.

Transport prices didn't change much between February and March 2014 compared with the 0.6% increase a year earlier. Petrol prices were unchanged compared with a 2.2% rise last year. Diesel fell by 0.4p/litre compared with a rise of 1.9p/litre last year. Air transport fares grew by less than they did a year ago.

As usual, prices for clothing and footwear increased between February and March but by less than last year. Downward pressure mainly came from women's outer garments. Furniture and household goods prices went up by 0.3% over the month compared to a rise of 0.8% last year.

The main upward contribution came from restaurants and hotels where prices increased by 0.5% compared with 0.2% last year mainly from price increases for overnight stays in hotels. Prices for alcohol, particularly spirits, and tobacco rose this year but fell last year.

CPIH which includes owner occupier housing costs (OOH) grew by 1.5% in the year to March 2014. RPIJ grew by 1.8% from 2% in February. RPI annual inflation was 2.5%.

Business Services Leading Growth In Sector

The ONS index of services grew by 3.2% (IOS=106.6) over the year to January with all of the main service sectors showing growth. Business services and finance contributed the most with an increase of 3.5% and 1.4% to total growth in the service sector with administrative and support services contributing 11.3 %, distribution, hotels and restaurants also contributed growth of 1%, government and other services grew 1.7% and 0.5% to total growth and transport, storage and communication grew by 2.5% and 0.3% to total growth.

The month on month estimates show that there was growth of 0.4% in output between December 2013 and January 2014. Quarterly figures show growth of 0.8% between Q4 2013 and Q3 2013.

Services Index Increases By 3.2%

The Index of Services produced by the ONS increased by 3.2% on the annual comparison in December 2013. All four of the main components increased in the most recent month on the monthly comparison.

Business services and finance made the biggest contribution with an increase of 1.4%. Distribution, hotels and restaurants also made a significant contribution with an increase of 1%.

The index estimates that output increased by 0.2% between November and December of 2013 following an increase of 0.5% between October and November 2013.

Over the quarter Q4 2013 compared with Q3 the index reported an increase of 0.8%. The IOS is estimated to have increased by 1.9% in 2013 compared with 2012.

Services Up 2.2%

The index of services published by the ONS shows that there was annual growth in services of 2.2% in February 2013. All components of the index reported growth. The biggest growth was in distribution, hotels and restaurants and business services and finance both contributing 0.8% to the growth of the sector.

Slight Increase In Services Output

The seasonally adjusted index of services published by the ONS is estimated to have increased by 0.6% in December 2012 compared with December 2011. Three of the four service sector index components increased during the period, most recent month compared with the same month a year ago. The services sector index number for December was 103.7. The index of services has not follwed the line of the double dip recession but has enjoyed a long period of growth and is above its pre-recession peak. The weakness in the economy is coming from other sectors.

The most resilient of the components making up the service sector index has been government and other services. It is now above its pre-recession peak after a period of decline. Not all components have fared so well. Business services and finance are slightly below the pre-recession peak as are distribution, hotels and restaurants and transport, storage and communication. It is to be expected that government services would do well during a recession as services relating to unemployment, careers and skills are in greater demand as automatic fiscal stabilisers come into effect.

The largest contributions to the overall increase came from distribution, hotels and restaurants with a 2% increase and government and other services which increased by 1%. Transport storage and communication increased by 0.5% but business services and finance decreased by 0.3%.

Looking at the quarterly comparison, between Q3 and Q4 services output decreased by 0.1%. The estimate from the GDP preliminary estimate for Q4 of no difference was slightly up on the actual figure. The estimate published is consistent with the second estimate of GDP. When comparing this quarter with the same three months in 2011 output increased 1.2%. The main contributors to the decrease came from government and other services with a decrease of 0.8% and distribution hotels and restaurants with a decrease of 0.5%. Upward pressure came from transport, storage and communication with an increase of 1.2% and business services and finance with an increase of 0.2%. The third quarter figures were helped by the Olympics and Paralympics.

The monthly comparison for December shows that service sector output decreased by 0.4% between November and December 2012 but increased by 0.6% when compared with December 2011. Transport, storage and communication increased by 0.5% during the month but the other three components decreased including a fall of 0.8% in business services and finance.

Growth In The Services Sector

The latest services index from the ONS suggests that the services industry grew by 1.2% in November 2012 compared with November 2011. Three of the four main components were estimated to have grown. The biggest contributions to the growth were from government and other services with growth of 2% and distribution, hotels and restaurants with 2.7% growth. The monthly analysis says that between October and November there was no change in output.

Business services and finance grew by 0.6% over the year with the main contributions to the growth coming from administrative and support service activities with growth of 6.8% and other professional services up by 0.9%.

Services Output Up 2%

The index of services for October 2012 compared with October 2011 was estimated to have increased by 2% according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. All 4 components increased output: business services and finance by 2.8%, government and other services by 1.8%, transport, storage and communication by 2% and distribution, hotels and restaurants by 0.6%.

On the monthly comparison service sector output was said to have increased by 0.1% between September and October 2012. Business services and finance and transport, storage and communication both grew over the month by 0.8% and 1.1% respectively. Government and other services and distribution, hotels and restaurants both decreased by 0.5% and 1.3% respectively offsetting the increases.

Estimated 1% Growth In GDP In Q3

GDP was estimated to have increased by 1% in the third quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. Production increased by 1.1%, construction decreased by 2.5% and services increased by 1.3%. Manufacturing contributed the most to the increase in production and agriculture increased by 2.2%. In the services sector distribution, hotels and restaurants grew by 1.6% as did government and other services, business services and finance contributed 1% growth and transport, storage and communiaction 0.8%.

Services Growth 0.8%

The index of services for February 2012 from the ONS increased by 0.8% compared with February 2011. The largest contributions to the increase of the three sectors that increased were from business services and finance and government and other services both of which grew by 1.1%. On the monthly analysis the sector fell by 0.4%. The increase in business services and finance came mainly from professional services activities with an increase of 5.1% and administrative and support activities with 4% growth. Government and other services increase came mainly from increases in human health and social work activities which increased by 2.3%. The only one of the four major components of the index to see a decrease was distribution, hotels and restaurants which fell by 0.2%.

Business Services Drive Up Services Index

The index of services (seasonally adjusted) increased by 1.2% in September 2011 compared with a year earlier. Business services and finance increased by 1.5% ands accounted for 38% of services, government and other services increased by 1.6% and accounted for 29%, distribution, hotels and restaurants which accounts for 18% remained unchanged and transport, storage and communication increased by 1.5% and accounted for the other 15% of services.

CPI Highest Ever

CPI annual inflation reached 5.2% in September 2011 up from 4.5% in August according to the ONS. It is the highest CPI inflation has ever been since records began in January 1997. It was also 5.2% in September 2008. RPI, an alternative measure of inflation reached 5.6%.

The biggest upward pressure came from increases in prices for energy products gas and electricity. Upward pressure also came from air transport and communications services. Clothing contributed the main downward pressure.

Housing and household services increased by 8.6% compared with 5.1% last month. Restaurants and hotels annual rate was 4.7% compared with 4.6% last month. It is the highest ever for the sector.

Services Output Increased 1.6% Over the Year

The index of services published by the ONS increased by 1.6% in June 2011 compared with June 2010. There was an increase in all components.

The largest contribution was made by business services and finance which rose by 1.6%, its highest increase since October 2010. Hotels and restaurants increased by 3.6%, the highest since February 2008, transport, storage and communication by 3.4% and government and other services by 1.2%.

Output in the services sector fell by 0.1% over the month between May and June 2011. While output grew in hotels and restaurants by 2% and government and other services by 0.2%, it remained as it was in business services and finance and fell by 1.6% in transport, storage and other services and by 0.7% in distribution.

Business And Finance Lead Services Growth In February

The seasonally adjusted index of services from the ONS increased by 1.5% in February 2011 compared with February 2010. All of the five components of the index recorded an increase but the largest increase was in business services and finance with an increase of 1.5%. The largest contribution to the increase was from computer services with 7.1% which contributed 1.5 percentage points to the 1.5% increase.

Looking at the most recent month on a year earlier distribution increased by 1.6% with wholesale contributing 3.7%. Transport, storage and communication increased by 2.7% with post and telecommunications contributing a 7.7% increase or 3 percentage points to the 2.7% increase. Government and other services increased by 1.2%. Health and social care made the largest contribution with an increase of 4.3% or 1.4% to the increase. Hotels and restaurants increased by 0.5%.

Inflation Up To 4%

The latest inflation data from the ONS says that CPI annual inflation now stands at 4% from 3.7% in December. The government target for CPI is 2%. The main contributory factors were petrol and diesel prices, restaurants and cafes, furniture and furnishings, alcoholic beverages and vehicle purchases. Two important factors that also made an impact were the increase in VAT and the price of crude oil. Downward pressure on the CPI came from recreation and culture, banking services and clothing and footwear. The RPI increased from 4.8% in December to 5.1% in January 2011.

The all items CPI hasn't been higher since November 2008, non-alcoholic beverages, restaurants and hotels and petrol haven't been higher since records began.

Business Services Lead Increase In Services Index

The index of services from ONS rose by 2.5% in September 2010 compared with September 2009. There were increases in all five components. Business services and finance grew by 3.4%, distribution by 1.8%, hotels and restaurants by 4.9%, transport, storage and communication by 1.1% and government and other services by 1.8%.

Services Index Up by 1.4%

The ONS Index of Services increased by 1.4% in June 2010 compared with June 2009. Four of the five components increased over the year. Distribution increased by 4.2%, business services and finance by 1.7%, hotels and restaurants by 0.9% and government and other services by 0.7%. The only component to show a decrease was transport, storage and communication with -1.7%. It was a very similar picture over the quarter the only difference being hotels and restaurants which remained unchanged.